Apple has trumped Microsoft, in many analysts’ view, by releasing Mac OS X weeks before the they rolled out its much-hyped Windows XP, according to a Reuters article. But said analysts are divided over whether Apple can become a “crossover success” rather than a “cult hit.”
“Apple has once again not achieved escape velocity,” David Coursey, a long-time computer industry commentator and sometime critic of Microsoft practices, told Reuters reporter Peter Henderson. He added that Apple’s products are better, but not enough to tip the scales for most people buying a computer.
With its new iPod, Apple is ahead of the curve, according to Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds. Mac OS X is easier to use than XP, but not enough to increase Apple’s market share, he told Reuters.
But if Apple is a “niche” computer, it’s a profitable niche.
“I think they are doing just fine,” Reynolds told Reuters. “They own a niche market. They are profitable.”
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